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April 27, 2024
 

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NISSAN CO

JAPAN
Feb 14, 2000
Nissan Motor to sell aerospace unit to IHI
Nissan Motor Co. confirmed Monday that it has agreed to sell its aerospace and defense division to Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co. as part of its streamlining efforts. The two firms will decide on the cost of the deal, the number of employees involved and other details by the end of July, a Nissan spokesman said. Nissan has been developing and manufacturing rockets since 1953, including the M-5 rocket that failed to put an astronomical observation satellite into orbit last week. As of the end of January, the Nissan unit employed 920 people, mainly at a plant in Tomioka, Gunma Prefecture. It posted 51 billion yen in sales in fiscal 1998. An IHI spokesman said the proposed deal would help enhance IHI's aerospace and defense division since the two firms complement one another. Nissan's rockets, for example, are based primarily on solid-fuel propellants, while IHI's vehicles use liquid fuel. Most of Nissan's defense contracts are with the Ground Self Defense Force, whereas IHI's main customers are the Air Self Defense Force and the Maritime Self Defense Force, the IHI spokesman said. The proposed sale is part of Nissan's effort to concentrate its corporate resources on its core automotive business under the so-called Revival Plan announced last. In addition to the aerospace and defense division, Nissan manufactures boats and industrial machinery. Led by Chief Operating Officer Carlos Ghosn, Nissan is hoping the restructuring program will halve its interest-bearing liabilities to 700 billion yen by fiscal 2002 and return the company to profitability in fiscal 2000.
JAPAN
Dec 7, 1999
Ghosn pushes shared goals to revive Nissan
Staff writer Carlos Ghosn knows exactly what he wants and precisely how he is going to achieve it. Handed the massive task of turning Nissan Motor Co.'s fortunes around, the Brazilian-born executive of French car manufacturer Renault also realizes that simply cutting costs, jobs, suppliers and reducing the number of lines that the company turns out is not enough; Ghosn wants everyone connected with the firm to know their combined goal. "The most important task in communication is to give an objective, a purpose that everybody shares," he said in a recent interview with the radio station InterFM. "If there is no purpose that they share, then it is very difficult to gather everybody and ask them to make the effort to allow the company to overcome the difficulties." The "difficulties" that Ghosn -- dubbed "Le Cost Killer" -- has inherited include interest-bearing liabilities of 1.4 trillion yen. To turn Nissan back into a viable carmaker that competes in markets all over the world means the firm will have to slash 21,000 jobs, close down three of its plants and two run by its affiliates, do away with nine vehicle platforms and nearly half of its suppliers -- all by 2002. "I think that remembering past victories is important because you need confidence -- confidence in yourself, confidence in the people around you. And at times, the challenge is so big that you need to build strength in yourself to be able to overcome this challenge," he said. "But at the same time, if you limit yourself to your past glories, then you will not move forward. It has to be a balance between recognizing the past victories, understanding them, gaining confidence from them, but at the same time taking a look at the future and seeing that the necessity to change is the only way to overcome future challenges." The future, as the hard-hitting Nissan chief operating officer sees it, is one in which Nissan and Renault combine their skills to ensure that both firms increase their market penetration as allies. Ghosn dismisses suggestions that it is a weak coalition. "The alliance between Renault and Nissan has a lot of potential; obviously we have a lot of difficulties to overcome, the first of which is to revive Nissan. But it is extremely important to establish a balanced relationship between the two companies," he said. In terms of specific global targets, the two companies are looking closely at India, where neither firm has a presence but which Ghosn said is nonetheless "a very important market," and China, where both have a small presence. In addition, each firm intends to use the areas in which the other is stronger to leverage a larger presence. Nissan intends to get a bigger share of the market in South America by using Renault's established infrastructure, while the French carmaker hopes to make inroads into Mexico, where Nissan controls 20 percent of the market. "This will be a win-win situation," Ghosn said. "Where both companies are absent, we will have common projects; where one firm is present and the other is absent, the company that is absent will leverage the presence of the other to go faster and to do it in a more effective way." Another area in which both firms plan to pool their resources is work on the car of the future, including the incorporation of more energy-efficient engines and design of environmentally friendly vehicles. Surprisingly, however, Ghosn refuses to rule out alliances, either temporary or more lasting, with other car firms in the search for tomorrow's technology. "Even the fact that Nissan and Renault are working together will not be sufficient for certain developments, like fuel cells, because of the amount of investment and because of the technological challenge. And from time to time you will see alliances between competitors in research to try to do it as fast as possible and in the most effective way possible," he said. "Everybody knows that no matter how big you are, you can no longer do it all alone," he added. "And we are totally open to cooperation on specific projects." Looking to the future of Nissan as a company, Ghosn expressed his belief that the company's "ReNaISSANce" project to get the carmaker back on the road to a healthy future will be a success, even though competition between manufacturers is likely to intensify, and, he added, "Our main preoccupation is fixing Nissan, and nothing else, as we're not really in a position today to give a lesson to anybody."The interview will be aired Sunday at 7:03 a.m.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 1999
Restructuring of Nissan brings 323 billion yen loss
Struggling Nissan Motor Co. announced Monday a consolidated net loss of 323.5 billion yen for the first half of fiscal 1999. The automaker said the losses were due to pension and retirement expenses as well as the cost of a massive restructuring program.
JAPAN
Nov 15, 1999
Nissan auto mall aims to enhance buying experience
ZAMA, Kanagawa Pref. -- Nissan Motor Co. unveiled a new automotive mall here Monday, the largest of its kind in Japan, as one of its efforts to offer customers easy access to new and used cars and improve sales efficiency.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 1999
Nissan Motor to cut five factories, 21,000 jobs
Nissan Motor Co. revealed Monday a drastic restructuring plan that includes closing five factories and slashing 21,000 jobs worldwide.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 1999
Ghosn speaks on Nissan prospects
Nissan Motor Co. must get itself back on a track toward profitability in the next fiscal year -- a goal that could be held captive by market conditions, according to Carlos Ghosn, Nissan's chief operating officer.
JAPAN
Apr 28, 1999
Nissan to slim management as Renault execs enter
Nissan Motor Co. announced a management downsizing plan Wednesday aimed at speedier decision-making, a slimmer board and the appointment of three executives from Renault SA.
JAPAN
Mar 17, 1999
Analysis: Nissan's troubles deeper than Renault's pockets
Nissan Motor Co.'s long road to reconstruction and the ongoing realignment of Japan's automobile industry is far from over -- in fact it may have only just begun, according to auto industry observers.
New JAL chief concerned about yen’s ‘excessive’ weakness
Mitsuko Tottori became Japan Airlines’ first female CEO on April 1, having risen through the ranks as a flight attendant and heading the flight attendant and customer experience divisions.
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.
Yen inches closer to intervention point as BOJ meeting starts
The rate of the yen against the U.S. dollar is displayed in the trading room at foreign exchange brokerage Gaitame.com in Tokyo on Thursday.
Princess Aiko makes debut at imperial garden party
Princess Aiko attends an imperial garden party in Tokyo on Tuesday.
'So hot you can't breathe': Extreme heat hits the Philippines
A pedestrian cools himself with a folding hand fan as he waits for a ride along a road in Manila on Wednesday, as extreme heat hit the Philippines.
Tokyo's Koto Ward by-election a race unlike any other
Natsumi Sakai, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan’s candidate and one of four female candidates running in the by-election, touts her experience as a cancer survivor and midwife as having prepared her to tackle issues that women currently face.
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.
Top U.S. and China diplomats talk tough amid warnings of new ‘downward spiral’
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Friday
Kyotographie's strong 12th edition shines light into the margins
Yassine Alaoui Ismaili, who goes by Yoriyas, turned to photography, shooting motion while in motion himself, after an injury forced him to give up his career as a professional breakdancer.
For amateur sumo, a fresh start offers hope against time-wasting and gamesmanship
Wrestlers prepare for the start of a bout at the 2023 Sumo World Championships in Tokyo. Starting this month, placing one hand on the clay first is no longer allowed.

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